Happy New Year! 🎉🎊

Hope this new year brings a new hope and happiness in everyone's life.

******

It was no different than any other day.

He was busy with back to back meetings and finalizing various deals.

It was 8 in the night and he was still working. His phone kept ringing and he ignored it. His mother was calling him to come home which he was postponing from months.

But today she was very much persistent to make him come home.

He sighed and looked at his phone which has so many missed calls from his mother and 1 missed call from his father.

He was surprised at this.

His father didn't talk to him much since Aadhya left, he would just nod or talk two to three words of only if it's necessary. He never saw his father so sad and defeated but now looking at him like that makes him feel guilty.

He felt responsible for his father's state.

He decided he would go there and meet them.

He has already too many regrets and he doesn't want to add anymore.

He picked up his coat and walked out of his office.

He reached their mansion in no time and walked inside preparing himself for the lecture his mother would give him.

He stepped inside to feel only silence.

He further went inside and saw his mother sitting on the dining table lonely.

" Mom." He called and she snapped her head towards him.

" Rishi you came!" She exclaimed and hugged him.

" Why don't you come home at all nowadays?" She asked and he stayed silent.

" I know you are angry on me for thinking to announce your engagement in that party that day." She said looking down.

" I am sorry beta....I just thought you would be okay with it since you agreed to date Neetha and you both were friends since childhood, I thought you both just needed a push but I didn't think that it would hurt you so much.....I am so sorry." She said with tears.

He was stunned as his mother never apologises to anyone.

" It's okay Mom.....but please understand that I just see her as a friend and I don't like her, Please don't look for any alliances also because I am not ready for marriage.....atleast not now." He said slowly to make her understand and she nodded her head.

He smiled and she hugged him.

" Rishi, I am worried about your father beta. He is not being himself, I never saw him like this in my whole life. Did something happened beta?" She asked him.

Rishabh looked down guiltily.

" Where is he?" He asked her.

" In the study." She told him.

" Okay.....I will go and talk to him." He said and walked towards their study.

He knocked on the door and opened it. He saw his father sitting on the chair reading a book and he called him to gain his attention.

His father looked up at him but didn't say anything.

" Why did you call me on my phone dad?" He asked.

" To ask you to come home and talk to your mother." He said.

" I talked to her." He said.

There was silence between them.

" Dad where is she?" Rishabh asked.

" Who?" His father asked looking into the book.

" You know about whom I am talking." Rishabh said sighing.

" If you are talking about Shaanvi then I don't know." He said simply turning a page.

" You really don't know about her whereabouts?" He asked.

" Yes." He stated.

" Didn't you tried to know where are they?" He asked.

" No." He mumbled.

" Why?" Rishabh asked exasperated.

" Because I wanted her to sort out her life and I don't want to hurt her more than already she is by stalking her." His father said glaring at him.

" But someone should be keeping tabs about her..... right?" Rishabh asked.

" Why?" His father asked.

" To know whether she is safe or not." He said.

" She will be fine, she can take care of herself." His father said and went back to his book.

" Dad if you say like that, do you think that I will believe that you don't worry about her safety?" He questioned and his father stayed silent.

" Dad, I know you think that you failed your friend and couldn't take care of your friend's daughter but you have done a great job in keeping her safe and sane. If it would have been someone else then they would have left them on their own but you didn't. You stood by them and guided them to the right path. You handled them very well in their depressed state and made them try to move on in their lives. Please don't blame yourself or feel guilty because if there is anyone who is responsible for all this mess then it's me and I am the guilty one here." Rishabh said and looked down feeling ashamed.

" Rishi, you love her don't you?" His father asked him softly.

" Yes." He agreed.

His father smiled at him for the first time in these past two months.

" You know, if that accident didn't happen on that unfortunate day then you both would have been together by now." His father said.

Rishbah eyes widened at this.

" What do you mean?" Rishabh asked stunned.

" Yes. It's the truth. Me and Shaanvi's father thought to get both of you married." He said sighing sadly remembering that day.

" When I went to their home once, I saw her and as soon as I saw her.....I thought of you. You both would be grest together and I shared my thoughts with her father. He was also happy but he said that ultimate decision will be only Shaanvi's. I also told him that it would happen only if our kids agree and talked to your mother about this. She was also happy about this even though she hadn't met Shaanvi. I thought of telling you about this but you were bitter about the marriage thing at that time looking at your brother's marriage. So I waited for good opportunity to talk to you but then that awful accident happened and everything went downhill after that." His father explained to him wiping his tears.

Rishabh himself has tears in his eyes.

" Did she know?" Rishabh asked gulping.

" Yes." His father sighing sadly.

Rishabh looked stunned at him.

" Did she agreed to marry me?" He asked with a shaking voice.

" Yes." His father replied and a tear escaped from his eye.

Rishabh shut his eyes painfully.

" After the accident also, I had brought up the marriage thing before her many times but she didn't agree saying that you don't deserve a broken girl like her and she wouldn't want to ruin your life with her baggage." His father said and those words hit him right in the heart.

Rishabh's father looked at his son who looked as if someone has stabbed him.

" Rishi....." He trailed off looking at the freely flowing tears from his son's eyes.

He was shocked to see him crying as he never saw his son crying not even when he was kid.

He was always a happy go lucky guy.

" I have hurted her beyond words....." Rishabh whispered painfully and got up to leave.

" Rishi....." His father called and he halted without turning back.

" I am keeping tabs on them, they are safe." He heard his father and felt a little relief.

He kept walking until he came outside and looked for his mother to bid his byes. He heard a loud thud and walked in that direction. He saw his brother glaring at his bhabi who sat on the couch looking at her nails.

" I am asking you what the hell is this?" Rahul shouted throwing a magazine on the table.

" Magazine." She replied carelessly.

" I know that. Why are you on it's cover page wearing that awful dress?" Rahul asked in rage.

" Awful? Do you even know how much it costs? It's a designer piece especially designed for me." She said proudly.

" You are married and you shouldn't be wearing such dresses." He said.

" You can't decide what I should wear." She said glaring at him.

" Of course I can. I am your husband." He exclaimed.

" Now you remember that you are my husband huh? Talk when you actually behave like a husband." She said chuckling bitterly and walked away leaving him speechless.

Normally Rishabh would have laughed at his brother's face but now he really felt pity on him.

" What the hell does she mean?" Rahul asked himself clueless.

" She means that first you act as the husband you are and then impose your right on her." Rishabh said making Rahul snap his head towards her.

" Rahul, since your marriage you never behaved as her husband. You just work and work. You ignored her as if she doesn't even exist and now suddenly you are saying that she can't do this, she can't do that because you are her husband. Do you think she will listen to you?" Rishabh asked raising his brows at him.

" Then what should I do now?" Rahul asked sighing rubbing his forehead.

" First befriend her. Try to get to know her and spend some time with her." Rishabh said seriously.

" And please let your work stay out of this. She will be happy if you take out some time for her." Rishabh said sternly.

Rahul stood quiet processing what his little brother said and Rishabh left him with his thoughts.

******

It is one of those days where Rishabh is working late.

As the days are passing, his grief and pain are only increasing. It has been an hour since he was staring at the laptop screen blankly.

He wasn't even working.

He doesn't know what to do.

At first he thought he would give space to her and let her sort out things but now howmuch ever he tried he is unable to bear without her in his life.

He wants to know where is she, how is she, how is Aman.

The pain is eating him from inside.

He snapped out of his trance when his phone started ringing. He didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment and so he cut the call. He looked at the time to see it's past 10pm and sighed getting up.

He went to the parking lot and walked to his car. He doesn't know why but his car didn't start and he doesn't have interest at the moment to check what's the problem.

He locked his car and walked out of the office. First he thought to look for a taxi but started walking on the road mindlessly. His mind was just running around Aadhya and Aman.

He came back to his senses when someone has pulled him suddenly.

He frowned and looked at his side to see that he was about to get hit by a truck. He huffed in relief and looked at the one who helped him.

It was Harish.

" Sir, what happened? Why are you walking on the road like that? And where are you so lost that you couldn't see the truck?" Harish asked questions looking horrified at him.

" My car didn't start and so I was just....." He trailed off.

" I will drop you home." Harish said and walked to his bike.

" It's okay Harish you go, I will call a cab." Rishabh said looking at the time, it's almost 11 pm.

" No Sir, I will drop you." Harish said in finality starting his bike.

Rishabh sighed and sat at the back.

They both were silent the whole ride and they reached his penthouse in no time.

" I am sorry, I troubled you at this time of the night." Rishabh said apologetically.

" It's okay Sir and anyway it's not the first time I brought you home at this time." Harish said making him frown.

" What do you mean?" Rishabh asked.

" Remember when you were drunk at the club? It was me who took you home." Harish said smiling at the memory of drunk Rishabh who kept chanting 'I miss you Aadhya' that day.

Rishabh was shocked.

" How do you know where I was?" Rishabh asked confused.

" Baby Ji called me and asked me to get you home. She was afraid that you will drive while you are drunk." Harish said.

And then it hit him.

He had drunk dialled her number and forgot how he got home after talking to her.

She was the one who sent him home.

She cared.

She had always.

Tears welled up in his eyes.

"After what happened to their family, she is always afraid of accidents. She was worried that something might happen to you if you drunk and drive. That's why she requested me to bring you home giving me your address." Harish said smiling slightly.

Rishabh now understood why she was always paranoid while walking on the road and how she looks around panicked to see any vehicle trying to hit them.

She had always protected him.

He should be the one to protect her.

But instead he had just let her go.

The pain that hit him at the moment is unbearable.

He deserves it.

" Where is she?" He mumbled looking down.

" I don't know sir, she just left saying that she will be going for few days and told me to take care." He said and looked at Rishabh who looked exactly same as Aadhya.

Broken.

" Don't know what happened in that party, she came out crying and became too silent after that.....and now suddenly she left." Harish said sadly.

" Party? What party?" Rishabh asked alarming.

" That party in the hotel Sir. She asked me to take her there but when she came out, she looked devastated. I had seen her like that when their whole family was dead.....she had the same look, like she lost something important." Harish explained.

Rishabh stood paralysed.

She came to the party.

That day.

Which was exactly after when he came to know about who is she.

She came there.

She never attends parties.

She must have come there to talk to him.

Then why did she leave crying?

What has happened?

Is he missing something?

Did someone say something to her?

He raked his brain thinking hardly about that day.

He arrived late.

All whispers going around about him.

Then Neetha acting all mushy like he is her boyfriend.

And then he got to know about their engagement announcement.

Engagement!

He shut his eyes painfully.

She must have known about it.

Ofcourse! they were freaking saying about it to everyone in the party even before the announcement which he didn't let it happen.

Yes!

God! How much it must have hurted her?

That's why she left!

Leaving everything!

And at that moment when the realisation hit him about what must have happened actually that day, he fell on his knees crying vigorously making Harish worry.

He had hurted her in so many ways.

What he had done?

Knowingly or unknowingly he gave her so much pain.

He hurted the girl he loved the most.

These revelations had hit him hard on his face.

And the pain he is feeling right now is beyond any death.

.
.
.
.
.

To be Continued............

Please share your views about the chapter.

Stay Tuned...............